CHAPTER 2

OSTEOLOGY

Overview

Bones of the Skull

Views and Sutures

Major Foramina and Fissures

Cervical Vertebrae

Clinical Correlates

Questions

Overview

GENERAL INFORMATION

Most complicated bony structure in the human body

The complete bony framework of the head; includes the mandible

28 individual bones make up the skull:

• 11 are paired

• 6 are single

Wormian bones, or sutural bones, are irregularly shaped small bones found along sutures that occur naturally

FUNCTIONS

Most important function: to protect the brain

Also protects the 5 organs of special sense:

• Olfaction

• Vision

• Taste

• Vestibular function

• Auditory function

DIVISIONS

Two major ways to divide the bones of the skull:

• Regional

• Developmental

Regionally, the skull is divided into the mandible (lower jaw) and cranium (skull without the mandible)

Cranium is further divided into:

• Cranial vault–upper portion of the skull

• Cranial base–inferior portion of the skull

• Cranial cavity–interior of the skull

• Facial skeleton–bones that make up the face

• Acoustic skeleton–ear ossicles

Developmentally, the skull is divided into:

• Viscerocranium–the portion of the skull related to the digestive and respiratory systems

• Neurocranium–the portion of the skull that protects the brain and the 5 organs of special sense

Cranial cavity divisions:

• Anterior cranial fossa–contains the frontal lobe of the brain

• Middle cranial fossa–contains the temporal lobe of the brain

• Posterior cranial fossa–contains the cerebellum

Skull is depicted by observing it from 5 views:

• Norma frontalis–the anterior view

• Norma lateralis–the lateral view

• Norma occipitalis–the posterior view

• Norma basalis–the inferior view

• Norma verticalis–the superior view

ARTICULATIONS

Bones of the Skull

FRONTAL BONE

PARIETAL BONE

OCCIPITAL BONE

TEMPORAL BONE

SPHENOID BONE

LACRIMAL BONE

NASAL BONE

ZYGOMATIC BONE (ZYGOMA)

ETHMOID BONE

VOMER

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